Easy as ABC
by AdrianZ
Summary: "It is a beautiful mess and it tastes like a piece of heaven." Maria Hill and Steve Rogers' relationship in 26 short drabbles, one for each letter of the alphabet.
1. A is for Anchor

**This work is my first fanfiction and was inspired by a story titled "The Queen's Alphabet". Constructive criticism is very welcome.**

** A is for Anchor**

There are many things on Maria Hill's mind. She divides them into groups: necessary evils, things to be done and burdens to be carried. The Avengers are one of those burdens and each time she grows a bit closer to Steve Rogers she reminds herself that this is a bad idea and if she adds the weight of them as whatever they are together to her burdens, it could crush her. The next week she is faced with an incident of proportions so massive she thinks this may be the day it all goes down the drain. Searching for something to hold on to, she finds his eyes. He is utterly calm, as if he has complete faith in her. The look on his face tells her that she has the strength to do this. After that she takes Steve Rogers out of her categories. The weight of them is an anchor, not a burden.


	2. B is for Broken

** B is for Broken**

At the beginning he felt broken in two. One part of him was a century away; the other part was lost,

scrambling together the pieces he thought might fit. His fingertips ghost over her back, tracing the faint lines of faded scars.

It reminds him of a battered teacup, glued together over and over and still miraculously not leaking.


	3. C is for Captain

**C is for Captain**

Maria Hill insists on calling him Captain Rogers and for some inexplicable reason it really annoys him.

It feels so distant and impersonal, as if she is willingly shutting him out.

He knows it is his military title and simply protocol for her to do so, but he can't help notice how she calls Bruce by his first name and how she never sits next to him at dinner in the Avengers tower. He does know why it annoys him.

Every time she calls him Captain Rogers, she reminds him that there is a line. It is a line drawn in red tape and not even his superpowers will erase it.


	4. D is for Dance

**D is for Dance**

His hands tremble a little as he puts one on the back of her spine and slides the other into her left hand. There's no music as he leads her across the dance floor, but it helps when he doesn't have to worry about being in time to the rhythm. He was astounded when she let him take her hand and take the lead. It shows a rare vulnerability most people never get to see and Steve feels honoured by her opening up to him. As they effortlessly float across the room, he sees that following takes as much strength as leading.


	5. E is for Exception

**E is for Exception**

Deputy Director Maria Hill not only follows the rules, she actually likes them. They exist for a reason. They exist to protect what is worth keeping, making sure everything is structured. With rules things are clear and simple. You either follow the rule or you suffer the consequences. The thing is, to every rule there is an exception. Steve Rogers is her exception.


	6. F is for Fear

**F is for Fear**

She has never been so scared in her life. Not when her father was his drunkest, not in Madripoor, not when Barton nearly crashed the Helicarrier. The fear a plastic stick instils into her would be ridiculous if it wasn't so serious. She doesn't dare look at it just yet, because right now her world is still standing and if she looks it might crumble brick by brick. She wants to scream, to kick herself for being stupid, and to follow one of the urges she usually suppresses. Fear turns us into animals, is what Coulson would say. Maria wants to slap him for sneaking around in her brain like that, she wants to run, to disappear and never turn around. In the end the pregnancy test is negative and Maria remembers she can run from her fears and she can run from herself, but that will never get her anywhere.


	7. G is for Golden

**G is for Golden**

The rain falling in the glow of the street lamps shimmers golden.

Maria is standing on a street corner, soaked to the core, the tips of her hair curly from the water pouring down.

She is about to leave when Steve comes running up the street towards her, picking her up and twirling her around.

The joy runs through her veins like a shot of pure gold.


	8. H is for Hero

**H is for Hero**

Captain America is a hero. Steve Rogers is just an ordinary guy from Brooklyn.

He often wonders if it is a good thing to separate Captain America and Steve Rogers as strictly as he tries to.

Today, however, he needs to, because the press and the men who sign his pay check want him to be the hero.

He looks over the cards Fury gave him one more time, when a woman's hand frees them from his grasp and encloses his palm with her fingers. They are a little rough and her cuticles are in bad shape, but the coolness of her hand is soothing.

"Don't be nervous Steve. You're going to do great." The slightest hint of a smile flits over Agent Hill's face as she squeezes his hand tightly. As he walks up the stairs to the podium, he decides that the people matter more than someone else's twisted opinions and that Steve Rogers is a hero too.


	9. I is for Insanity

**I is for Insanity**

Insanity is probably the best word to describe what they have. It is never right, never wrong, it is imperfection and passion and desperation clawing away at their hearts.

There is no cure, no escape and no end in sight. They are frozen, caught in a whirlwind of ice and persistence.

It is a raw need for something that leaves both of them exposed to the cruelties of circumstance. Although this may cost them all they have neither one wants to give up. The view on the edge is far too nice for that.


	10. J is for Jealous

**J is for Jealous**

Maria doesn't know why she got up, walked over to the bar and kissed the living daylights out of Steve in front of the entire pub.

Those beautiful women flirting with him, trying to get his attention like he is a prize to be won…It's pathetic, really.

Although she can't help but notice he is starting to get more comfortable with all the attention and somehow it leaves her feeling left out.

She knows that jealousy lead to this public display of affection and she wishes she was sorry but she isn't. Contrary to popular belief she is only human.


	11. K is for Ketchup

**K is for Ketchup**

One of the first things he learnt about Maria was that she loves ketchup.

She eats it with everything from burgers, fries and Mac and cheese to steak, scrambled eggs and caramel ice cream. Steve doesn't get the whole ketchup thing but he loves her appetite. It is amazing how happy the right dish can make her.

Maria picks a few tomato pieces out of her omelette and gets up. A few moments later she is back with a bottle of ketchup in her hand. He can't help but laugh as she generously pours it over the omelette.

"What?"

He shakes his head and says, "You know it has tomatoes in it. Lots and lots of tomatoes."

She furrows her brow in confusion.

"I know. With ketchup it just tastes better. No offence." She smiles and for a moment his world stops spinning.


	12. L is for Light

**L is for Light**

He is the light chasing her demons. The way her eyes light up when she smiles catches him off guard every single time; he thinks he may never get used to it.

In the morning the light comes creeping in through the shutters of the room to remind them that reality is just a step away.

The light makes them visible, but Maria isn't ready to take that step yet. She would rather stay invisible a little bit longer.


	13. M is for Memories

**M is for Memories**

Memories are precious. A reminder of the past they weigh you down or give you the power to go on.

Memories are always with you, if you need them just take them out of your pocket and replay that day.

However, lying in a hospital bed with a tight bandage on her abdomen and an unfamiliar dizziness in her head, Maria draws a blank whenever she tries to remember anything that happened after Loki's attack on New York City.

She has no idea why Captain Rogers is sitting next to her bed, his chiselled features displaying deep concern. She's not sure she wants to find out.


	14. N is for Nightmares

**N is for Nightmares**

Both of them have nightmares. Steve mumbles orders and occasionally even screams in his sleep until he is woken up.

Maria shakes uncontrollably even after he wakes her. He holds her in his arms, rocking back and forth until the shudders stop.

She tells him stories about Fury and her latest argument with Tony, anything that distracts him from the icy water threatening to suffocate him.

She lets him stay more often now, because when he is there, the monsters stay under the bed


	15. O is for Obedience

**O is for Obedience**

In an agency like S.H.I.E.L.D., obedience is one of the keys to success.

Where there is a chain of command it is important that actions are carried out under the order of another person. Preferably under the orders of Deputy Director Maria Hill, because if anything goes wrong, it is she who has to answer to Fury and the Council.

Therefore one of the reasons she has a problem with superheroes is that not a single one of them is capable of obedience.

Maybe she dislikes Captain Rogers less than the others because when he disobeys orders, he usually has a good reason to.

So when the sky comes falling down on them and he asks for help, she sends it, because obedience is important, but it isn't everything.


	16. P is for Please

**P is for Please**

Her bedroom is filled with a faded out darkness. The red numbers on the alarm clock say it's already too late and still too early to be up, but Steve can't sleep.

So instead of sleeping he watches the female form next to him slowly inhale and exhale. Asleep she is different.

She is calm and relaxed, not tightly wound, not always waiting for the next disaster to happen or thinking about the next mistake she can not make.

To him she is perfect either way. Suddenly the feeling of her cold hand on his chest pulls him out of his thoughts. Maria looks at him. He can't quite tell what she is thinking, but he has to get this out in the open, he has to tell her. He opens his mouth to speak and before he can utter a single syllable, her lips capture his in a kiss that feels too intense and strangely sad. When he breaks the kiss he sees that sadness lingering under the tears in her eyes.

"Please don't say you love me" she hoarsely whispers against his neck, her breath tickling the soft skin under his ear, "it's just…I might not say it back."

So he stays silent, because this is her turf and he won't tempt fate.

Not when she is finally beginning to trust him.


	17. Q is for Quiet

**Q is for Quiet**

He asks to draw her. She doesn't want to do it, but Fury has her babysitting the Avengers and he insisted she keep them happy. Also, saying no to Steve Rogers does not seem like a valid option, he is simply too nice.

"Are you sure you are ok with this? It might take some time and I wouldn't want to keep you from anything important." She almost smiles at his sweetness. "I'm good."

He nods. "I won't tell Tony." he says in his always sincere tone. This time she does smile.

Steve is completely baffled by the beauty of it and maybe it's because he never associated Maria Hill with smiling or maybe it is the way her entire demeanour changes and her eyes come alive. He wants to capture this exact moment on paper. They are silent the whole time he draws.

The quiet wraps them in a cocoon of solitude and for the first time he is at ease getting to know a woman.


	18. R is for Run

**R is for Run**

As he yells "Run!" he grabs her hand and starts sprinting towards the exit, pulling Maria along.

Her nails dig into his palm, imploring him to not let go, to not leave her behind, as though she needs his help. He knows she doesn't, yet he is still surprised at how he has to barely slow down for her to keep up.

They run through the corridors of the lab, bright lights glaring from above and all they can hear are their racing feet pounding on the stained linoleum. Steve pushes open the front door and the muddy ground gives in under his soles, splashing upwards, leaving mud all over them.

He can feel his muscles tensing and her ragged breathing tells him she won't be able to do this much longer.

When the explosion goes off she stumbles and almost falls, but when he looks over his shoulder to check if she is okay her mud covered expression tells him to keep running.


	19. S is for Shield

**S is for Shield**

Every child in the US knows Captain America isn't complete without his shield. Made out of vibranium, painted red and blue with a white star in the centre, it is the ultimate sign of patriotism.

The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division is Maria's shield.

Whenever they fight, she hides behind it and it is infuriating, because he can't compete.

In battles like this one though, where they are hiding under his shield, trying to achieve the impossible and survive, he is glad her shield is one of the most powerful secret agencies in world that comes with tactical teams and a rescue chopper.


	20. T is for Taphephobia

**T is for Taphephobia**

Taphephobia. The pathological fear of being buried alive.

Maria Hill has taphephobia and she hates the fact that it's listed in her S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel file.

Therapy never helped her overcome anything, so she doesn't go, despite the fact that Fury and Phil are constantly nagging her.

Then she tells Steve, because he was buried in the Arctic and she thinks if anyone understands it's him.

He embraces her tightly, promising if she ever ends up six feet under while breathing he will come and get her.


	21. U is for Uppercut

**U is for Uppercut**

One neatly placed uppercut and Maria left him with a swollen, bruised jaw acquiring a yellowish purple shade.

They are still sparring while it slowly fades. Somehow he wishes his metabolism wasn't that fast and he could keep a few wounds to remind him,

because her strength and determination to not give up regardless of the cost are worth remembering.


	22. V is for Virgin

**V is for Virgin**

He feels like he should be nervous taking this step but finds he isn't at all.

All he is aware of is the warm water trickling down his spine and her callused hands sending jolts of electricity over his skin.

He runs his hands through her hair, almost black from the wetness and drowns himself in one of her hungry kisses.

Her pale skin gives way to his searching touches, fingertips tugging at her, pulling her closer and closer, making her writhe in pleasure.

His legs quiver as she gently wraps her legs around him, taking him to a place he has never been before.


	23. W is for Warmth

**W is for Warmth**

He has warmth. It radiates off him. It clashes horribly with her coldness.

Except it doesn't. It is like the Coupe Denmark they are eating for dessert.

The hot chocolate melts the vanilla ice which in turn cools down the chocolate. The chocolate sets around the edge of the bowl and spoon and in small

pieces in the chocolate-vanilla sauce. It is a beautiful mess and it tastes like a piece of heaven.


	24. X is for XXL

**X is for XXL**

His shirts are all XXL. Maria had tiptoed out of bed while it was still dark outside in hopes of getting ready before he woke up so she could be out of here before her fears caught up to Eastern Standard Time.

Now she is standing in front of his closet looking for something he won't miss and all she can find are huge workout shirts with prints on them that look and sound way too much like Stark.

He probably gave them to Steve as part of his "Welcome to the 21st century" present. She swallows hard; thinking about last night, when for just a minute she was naïve or drunk enough to believe she actually had a chance.

She eventually finds a plain white shirt in his gym bag.

It is huge and she nearly disappears in it, but it smells like him and since she will never have Steve Rogers, because he is Captain America and she is…well…her…and it's just one hell of a mess, she might as well take his shirt.


	25. Y is for Yesterday

**Y is for Yesterday**

Many days are yesterday. Today's yesterday is unlike any of those days.

Today's yesterday is the day Steve Rogers proposed and this morning she woke up with a diamond on her hand and a knot in her stomach.

Once again she is overwhelmed with fear and she can't see a clean way out. She has to choose between breaking his heart and losing herself.

Maria never wanted today to be yesterday as much as she does that morning.


	26. Z is for Zeal

**Z is for Zeal**

She has been driven since she was old enough to have an opinion. The position she is in today is one she has earned the hard way.

Maria Hill never gives less than a thousand percent, regardless of the situation. She fights for what she wants with everything she's got and then some.

This thing with her and Steve though, it alters her attitude. For the first time since she left home, she does not want something. She needs it.


End file.
